day twenty three: teasers + Instagram

While writing SOMEWHERE BETWEEN WATER AND SKY, I did something different. I started sharing teasers of what I was working on in that moment, tagging it #realtimewriting. Every week in Story Sessions we have Teaser Tuesday, and it was a natural progression to begin sharing bits and pieces of my work as I wrote.

Some weeks I forgot, others I shared a few quotes, but really I just wanted to keep a steady reminder in front of people that not only am I writing a book, it's going to be available in September. I'd place this in the caption area available on Instagram.

The tools I used? For a few, like the two below, I used canva. The more I work with Canva, the more I understand it, and I love they send you tutorials after you sign up. Mostly though, I used Wordswag and Instagram.

Teaser created in Canva and then shared on Facebook.

Teaser created on Canva and then shared on Facebook.

Soon, I began finding the style I wanted to stick with and most of my teasers looked the same (outside of the quote).

Teasers do a few things. They allow your reader a chance to see into your book before you publish. They remind others your book is coming. They create tweetable (and shareable) images + quotes for your words to spread. And, if you take full advantage of hashtagging (#amwriting, #indieauthor, #instawriters #instagood #instaquote and so much more), you can harness a simple means of marketing that works.

Pro tip: If you're using Instagram to promote your book, change the URL in your profile to the amazon link.

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